Forgotten Love
by MammaSnow
Summary: Mary Margaret is married to David Nolan when the accident happens and she looses her memory of ever even meeting him. Will the couple be able to make it through or will they come out as two different people? No curse au. Inspired by The Vow. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Loss

**Mary Margaret is married to David Nolan when the accident happens and she looses her memory of ever even meeting him. Will the couple be able to make it through or will they come out as two different people? No curse au.**

 **Inspired by The Vow.**

 **Disclaimer: All characters belong to Once Upon A Time.**

 **A/N: For anyone reading my other series: I have a half completed chapter for 'Like Mother, Like Daughter' so do not worry, that will be coming very soon, however I seem to have written myself into a corner with 'Surrogate Siblings' so I do not know when or if I will continue.**

 _After 3 years of marriage, just the sight of Mary Margaret makes David smile from inside out, her very presence still like a light even in the darkest of days, her touch always an anchor and her kiss never fails to make his heart leap in his chest._

"Good day at work?" David asks as Mary Margaret slides into the passenger seat of their truck.

"Yeah, the kids actually behaved themselves today" she replies with a quick kiss on his cheek.

 _After 3 years of a relationship, they found each other and themselves, they discovered love together, they uncovered fears and helped each other overcome them, they realised hopes and dreams; fate weaving a path for them to travel together._

They stayed in the parking lot as usual for a little while, conversation easily flowing, music playing, and yet to David, the sweetest sound was Mary Margaret's laugh.

All was as it should be. Well, at least until the crash.

 _After 6 years together, it all went wrong._

The lorry came at them from behind with speed. The impact jolted David, rattling every bone in his body, and causing him to hit his head on the steering wheel. He lost consciousness for what could have only been a few minutes, the damage reduced by his seatbelt. However Mary Margaret had not yet got her seat belt on. She went flying forwards into the window and when David finally came back to his senses, he turned to see shattered glass, an inflated air bag and his unconscious wife covered in blood.

"Mary Margaret!" he called hopelessly over and over, hoping she would open her eyes but of course it was not to be.

He tried to move, to help her, get her out, do anything to save his love. But the movement was too painful and caused him to pass out once again.

As the darkness took over and his eyelids became heavier, he tried to resit, he really did. Unfortunately, for all love had brought this couple, it could not save them from the crash.

XXX

He wakes to the sound of a steady beeping, almost that of a heart monitor. Yet from what he can recall, he wasn't at a hospital. He was picking up his wife from the school. When the truck had hit and...

Mary Margaret.

Oh hell, Mary Margaret.

David tears open his eyes, blinking furiously. He sits up in bed, in what he can now see was a hospital ward, ignoring the rush of pain as he tears out the tubes and wires attached to him. The pain of not knowing if Mary Margaret is even alive, the last memory of her being a critical one, is by far worse than any physical pain David could feel.

He stumbles out of the ward and into a nurse.

"Sir, I recommend you get back into bed right now" she advised, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.

"My wife, Mary Margaret Nolan: where is she?" David demands.

A sombre mood suddenly falls over the two as the nurse drops eye contact and presses her lips into a thin line.

David feels a stabbing pain to his heart which was definitely not from his own injuries.

"No. She's alive, I know it. I have not lost her" David insists his head and heart both agreeing on this one. A steely assurance taking over which was something more than stubborn denial.

"Your wife is alive" the nurse confirms yet, still something was not right. The relief flooded over David causing his knees to weaken a little,

"David, this will be extremely hard for you to hear but I must tell you"

And just like that, 6 words can ruin 6 years together. An unbreakable couple, no longer so with 6 little words.

"She doesn't remember who you are"


	2. Unfamiliarity

**Mary Margaret is married to David Nolan when the accident happens and she looses her memory of ever even meeting him. Will the couple be able to make it through or will they come out as two different people? No curse au.**

 **Disclaimer: All characters belong to Once Upon A Time.**

The nurses had given her some drug to calm down after she woke up in a hospital bed, they said she was 'getting worked up' but Mary Margaret believed she had every right to be confused.

She had woken up in a hospital which certainly wasn't in Storybrooke, with no one waiting in the ward with her. Then a doctor assured her that her husband would be fine but Mary Margaret insisted that she is most certainly not married. Then the medics ran several tests and concluded she has amnesia which means she has lost a section of her whole life. And to top it all off she has chopped all her wonderful long hair off at some point.

So to say she is getting 'worked up' is most certainly rational.

The last memory Mary Margaret has is leaving Storybrooke behind to become a college student, but where she went and anything after, she just cannot seem to find in her head.

So really she is 6 years older than she thought she was when she awoke.

She has lost 6 years of life, of a relationship, heavens, she may even have a family.

And so really, to say she got 'worked up' is a complete understatement and breathing suddenly seems very hard and

"Mary Margaret?" a distantly familiar voice calls out, laced with concern and yet relief at the same time.

The voice almost seems to calm the storm within her and she catches her breath again.

Slowly, she turns and open her eyes to see a tall, undeniably handsome man at the door. He seems torn between rushing in to her and turning on his heel in a rush.

"Doctor?" she asks, though really she thinks she knows who this must be. A few more seconds of denial just seems so much easier.

The heartbroken look on his face confirms all she needs to know, though. This man is her husband of however many years and she doesn't even know his name. And somewhere deep within her, maybe it's the woman he knows, just can't stand to see him hurt.

"I'm sorry, I'm Mary Margaret, wait I suppose you know that if you're my husband, I'm just not sure who I know anymore and I guess starting from the start seems easier but I can spare introductions if-" she stops her rambling to look at his face.

A soft smile has spread on it, which she must admit makes him look even cuter, and he seems to be laughing to himself. However before she could ask what was so funny, he spoke and slowly took the chair next to her bed.

"If starting from the beginning is what you need, then I would be honoured to do it with you?" Though he showed confidence, she found it all too easy to see the fear behind his question.

"You'd do that for me?" This man is so willing to give up all he remembers to try again for her. She got a warm feeling in her chest and realised just how much love he must have for her. There must be so much to say, a burning desire to in some way hold her, yet he will wait, he will hold it all in just to be with her. If she wasn't already in bed, she would need to sit down.

"David Nolan" he offers a hand. She accepts and wonders at how natural and right it feels in hers. She tries not to focus too much on how he lingered a touch too long, or had that been her?

 _First lecture at her new college and she can't even find a pen. 'Well done Mary Margaret, great start to your new life' she mentally scolds herself. Someone slides in the seat next to her but in her fluster to find something, anything, to write with she doesn't acknowledge him. She pulls out an eyeliner and is seriously considering using it to take notes when the person next to her slides her a pen. For the first time she looks up at him and suddenly has to catch her breath, he is handsome and he is sitting right next to her._

 _"Take my pen, I'll take mental notes" he speaks in a low voice._

 _"How charming" she smirks back taking his pen. What was that comment? Where had that come from because that certainly was not Mary Margaret. He seemed to like it though, judging by the smirk on his face._

 _"David Nolan"_

 _"Mary Margaret Blanchard. Oh, and I like Charming better"_

The sudden flash back took her by surprise, and finally she knew that she had met this man before. However that was all she could recall. Her missing pen, her first lecture and those piercing blue eyes.

"Charming?" she gasps, looking up at him.

David about falls off his chair, and grasps one of her hands. "You remember?"

She is oh so tempted to lie, to avoid crushing the hope that had just risen within him, but that would never work.

"Meeting you, when you leant me a pen. Nothing else, only my life in Storybrooke before college" she gently tells him and can't help but notice the way his grip slackened in her hands.

"We'll get there Mare, I promise you" he assures her, though it seems to be for himself as much as to her.

"No one has called me Mare in a long time" she comments without thinking.

"No one you can remember" he replies with a sad smile. He seems to shake off the sober mood and his thoughts turn to her health. "How are you feeling, despite the major memory loss?"

"My ribs hurt a little, my ankle is sore and I don't know where my hair is" she chuckles nervously a little.

"You have one broken rib, one cracked, a sprained ankle and you cut it off because it made it easier to teach"

She looks up at him with a wide grin. She made it, after all those years of studying and tests, she got her graduate and became a teacher.

"So, I'm a teacher in New York, married to David Nolan whom I met in college. What else?" she asks, taking in a deep breath.

"We were both eighteen when we met, and we started dating a few weeks later, I proposed to you at twenty one and we got married when we were both twenty two, a year later. Now we're both twenty four, though I'm twenty five in a few weeks" he explains, pausing to think at each number. He looks adorable with a little frown on his face as he thinks.

"So the whole six years I have lost, are the six years I spent with you?" she asks, suddenly feeling like she might break down.

He nods slowly and squeezes her hand a little. "I'm sorry Mary Margaret. It should have been me, I would do anything to swap places with you"

She pulls her hands from his and instead gently cups his cheeks, not sure where the sudden courage to reach out and the desire to hold him had come from. Perhaps, once again, the woman who knows him could not stand the sorrow.

"David, the accident was not your fault, do not hold this against yourself because I certainly won't. All I ask of you is to stand by me and be patient. That's all I need, I don't want a magical health swap with you, I just need you" she starts confidently, but as she begins to seek comfort, she finds herself very vulnerable.

"That, I can do" he promises with a gentle smile. "Now you need to sleep"

And with a soft kiss on her cheek and a gentle caress of her arm, he leaves to his own bed.

She tries not to see the small shake of his shoulders as he leaves and instead places her hand on her cheek which is still tingling.


	3. Beginning

**Mary Margaret is married to David Nolan when the accident happens and she looses her memory of ever even meeting him. Will the couple be able to make it through or will they come out as two different people? No curse au.**

 **Disclaimer: All characters belong to Once Upon A Time.**

The first day they just spend talking, mainly about the years Mary Margaret cannot remember but she also talks to him about memories of storybrooke, suddenly fresh in her mind. He doesn't have the heart to tell her he already knows several stories because the way she laughs and smiles as she recalls old times is beautiful to look at. He decides, once again, that she is the most beautiful thing to look at.

They spend a lot of time playing chess, surprisingly something they could both do but never did together in six years. David soon realises that he is much more practiced than his wife but doesn't let on and allows her to win several times, always feigning a sore loss and delighting in the way it makes her smile.

David takes her out for walks in the grounds, although his shoulder is still quite weak, he pushes that aside to assist her with her ankle and sore ribs. They sit in the sun together, they walk the paths and when they find a great place to people watch, David makes up stories for them and revels in Mary Margaret's melodious laugh.

After a few days in the hospital, mainly spent by her side, David has filled Mary Margaret in on as much as her missing 6 years as he can. However, telling her a story is one thing, remembering it happening is something entirely different. The doctors have discharged them and so David will be taking Mary Margaret through her normal life, trying to cause more flashbacks or even a full restoration of memory.

"Ready to go home?" he asks her. Her recovery is visible, even only after a few days, the cuts are neatly healing up, the bruises are not as dark and now she's back on her feet, she looks so much better. Even if she has to wear an orthopaedic boot on her bad ankle.

"As I'll ever be" she replies with an unsure smile.

She is quiet throughout the journey but he understands she needs space. The silence isn't uncomfortable and he is glad of that, they could always sit in silence together.

They arrive at their flat, this is Mary Margaret's first time here and so he can't help but remember when they first moved in.

 _He walks in a few paces behind her, enjoying the skip in her step and watches her spin a few times before falling into his arms._

 _"I love it" she declares, a smile which is so bright is challenges Times Square, a few blocks away._

 _"And I love you" he replies, reaching down for a kiss which she instantly deepens._

 _Hands begin to wander and he lifts her up, so she is straddling his hips and he has a good excuse to feel her ass. This angle seems to please Mare as she moans happily and moves her hips a little against his._

 _"We have no bed" he gasps, pulling away from her mouth for a moment._

 _"Improvise then Charming"_

A gasp from Mary Margaret next to him pulls him back to his senses and with one look at her face, he can tell she is remembering too.

She looks up at him blushing, stumbling to try and find something unrelated to say.

"I'll show you round" he provides her with an escape.

"Thanks" and he knows she isn't just thanking him for the tour.

She pauses to look at the wall of photos she spent weeks making. Smiling warmly at old photos and staring at new ones, as if she is trying to force a flashback or just store them in her memory.

He guides her to the bedroom which he declares as "hers".

"Mine?" she asks, picking up on the pronoun.

"While you recover, I'll take the couch" he tells her with a gentle smile.

The look she gives him is both so grateful and yet surprised that he feels a little overwhelmed and has to swiftly carry on with the tour.

They finish by collapsing on the couch together, a distance between them which he is aching to close.

"I like what I did with the place" she comments with a smirk.

"You couldn't have done it without me"

 _"Charming, sweetie, stop staring at my ass and tell me if this photo is straight" she scolds him, though he does not miss the suppressed laughter in her tone._

 _He walks up to her, pressing himself unnecessary close. He draws his hands up along her arms until they reach the photo and he straightens it for her. Then he turns his attention to her neck and begins kissing it as his arms wrap around her waist._

 _"Let's take a break" he mummers into her skin before trailing kisses up to her ear and nibbling gently._

 _"That would be our third today, and that isn't including the bed testing sessions"_

 _Her objections soon seem forgotten though when he finds a sensitive spot and sucks, whilst grinding his hips a little. A moan escapes her and she has soon turned to catch her lips in his own and weave her arms around his neck._

"I don't know, from what I can remember, you did all the distracting" Mary Margaret mutters, the blush on her cheeks indicating she had another racy flash back.

"You'll remember I did that a lot" David grins back, unabashed. "Kind of an expert at it actually"

She laughs, though her cheeks remain pink, she relaxes and they talk for what must be hours because she is soon yawning and he is soon stretching.

That night, he thinks of her laugh and smile, he remembers the times they spent 'decorating', he recalls the gratitude she gave him whenever he did anything for her and with those thoughts the missing feeling of her in his arms, the lost weight of her head on his chest and the coldness next to him feels just a little less daunting.

XXXXX

David has to work today and she decides she feels the loss of his company because she is very much alone in this city. For any other feelings would be rash and certainly not very Mary Margaret Blanchard of her.

"I'll be fine David, I probably won't even leave the apartment"

"I'll leave if you promise to call me if you need anything at all, I'll have my cell on all day"

"I promise you. Now go!" she mockingly scolds him.

He leans in and places a kiss on her cheek before apologising about habit and dashing out of the door.

Once again she is left with a tingling sensation and something in her body longing for him to kiss her like he used to, not like a distant relative might.

After a few, what seems like, endless hours in the empty place, Mary Margaret decides to risk a trip out. After all, how hard can a coffee shop be to find in New York City?

Very.

It turns out it can be very hard especially if you take a wrong turn somewhere, or in several places.

She is lost. Completely and utterly lost.

 _She mentally kicks herself. Instead of listening to directions around campus, she was staring at David Nolan's ass who was unaware of her gaze as he left the room. Now she has no idea where her class is and it starts in a few minutes._

 _Oh no, wait._

 _It's already started. Curse Nolan and his tight jeans._

"Hey, are you alright?" a young woman asks placing a hand on her shoulder and snapping her out of her memory.

Mary Margaret does not remember the woman but she doubts she would, even if her memory was intact.

"Actually could I borrow your phone and ring my husband?" she asks, thinking of her cell, on the couch.

"Of course" the woman smiles and hands over the phone.

Mary Margaret takes it and opens the dialler only to realise, she doesn't know his number. Not good. She can't even blame her amnesia for forgetting her cell, this one is all her own fault.

"You don't happen to know the number of the animal shelter, do you?" Mary Margaret asks with a blush.

"I'm sorry, I don't but if you tell me which one I can have a look"

But of course, she doesn't even know which shelter he is at. Stranded in New York, if she ever finds him, he'll kill her.

One number she does know off by heart, Ruby's. She's still back at Storybrooke but she will surely have David's number. Hopefully they haven't fallen out within the last six years.

"Mare! Oh my gosh. Why the hell haven't you called? I thought you were dead! Or even worse, had forgotten me!" Ruby immediately shouts down the phone. No fall outs then.

"Hi Rubes, I'm sorry. I'm fine, but I don't have time to talk. I'm borrowing someone's cell because I left mine at the flat and I don't have David's number"

"Idiot. Hold up, I'll tell him to pick you up. What street are you on?" Ruby sighs.

After ending the call with Ruby and thanking the stranger, Mary Margaret has time to mentally prepare herself for the lecture. She may not know David that well anymore but she does know that he cares for her more than himself.

Either David broke several laws to get to her so quickly or he was just around the corner. She suspects the former.

She gets into the car, torn by apprehension and relief.

She's not sure how but he manages to lean over and pull her into his arms, kissing the top of her head. She stiffens in his hold, shocked by his ease but soon relaxes, not wanting to upset him. Certainly not because she feels so comfortable with him.

"That was reckless Mary Margaret. Don't ever do something like that again" he scolds, pulling away.

"It's hardly like I was at gun point, David" she retaliates, feeling a little like a bad child.

"No but you were lost in a massive city on your own and you had to use a stranger's phone to contact me. For all you know, they could have been a murderer!" David snaps back.

"Oh please. The only thing she stabs are her ready meals before they go in the microwave" she says with a smirk.

He doesn't reply but he moves back to his own seat and releases all contact with her.

"I'm going to forget things, and I probably will get lost again, but you can't be with me all the time. What do you want me to do David?" She asks, but even she can hear the defeat in her own voice.

"Do you want to move back to storybrooke?"

"I want to make this work" she says almost quietly.

His anger, she knows, is out of love and her ability to predict it only gives her hope for them. Giving up is not something Mary Margaret does. Especially not on love.

"You think I wouldn't follow you?"

"You have a job, an apartment, friends"

"None of that means anything without you Mare" he tells her, looking into her eyes with such love, she nearly looks away.

"So we're moving to storybrooke" she smiles.

"I'll call my boss" and he moves to squeeze her hand once more.

Maybe they do have this sorted. There's certainly worse people she could be married to.


End file.
